Abstract (technical / expert description):

Atpresent, increasing technical interest in processes with liquids containingdissolved gases can be found in chemical and energy engineering. Some examplesare the separation of flue gases by suitable absorbents, the production of high-valuefuels or petroleum products from synthesis gas, or the storage and transport ofhydrogen via liquid carriers. For the design and optimization of corresponding processes,accurate information about the thermophysical properties of the involved fluidsystems is necessary. Until now, however, transport and equilibrium properties forliquids with dissolved gases over a wide range of thermodynamic states arescarce. This is caused by limitations of experimental methods as well as the lackof theoretical models and prediction methods. In the suggested Sino-Germanresearch project, a systematic study of different thermophysical properties ofhydrocarbons, alcohols, and their mixtures with dissolved gases over a widerange of temperatures up to about 600 K is proposed. For these specificsystems, the investigations should contribute to a fundamental understanding howthe variation of the molecular structure of the liquids and of the dissolved gasesinfluences the thermophysical properties density, solubility, viscosity, and surfacetension. The German research team at the University of Erlangen-Nurembergfocuses on the characterization of the systems by molecular dynamics (MD)simulations and surface light scattering (SLS). Besides density and viscosity,the MD simulations should also access solubility and surface tension. While forthe latter properties the MD methodology has to be refined within the project,the SLS-technique was recently developed by the German research team for a reliabledetermination of viscosity and surface tension at high temperatures. For theseproperties, the Chinese research team at Xi'an Jiaotong University appliestheoretical models based on hard sphere and corresponding states theory as wellas experimental methods in form of the pedant drop and vibrating wire techniques.Viscosities and surface tensions determined in parallel by the two teams forthe same selected systems will serve as mutual reference data. The individualactivities in form of the determination of density via the vibrating U-tubemethod by the German team and of the solubility via a gravimetric technique bythe Chinese team are complementary and of joint interest. Thus, the already existingco-operation between both research teams will be further extended within theproject. For the selected liquids with dissolved gases, the expectable reliableand comprehensive database should serve as basis for a fundamentalunderstanding of their structure-property relationships. This supports thedevelopment of theoretical and empirical models for the description of thermophysicalproperties of arbitrary systems consisting of hydrocarbons or alcohols with dissolvedgases.